Trim strip



T. E. JENKINS Aug. 23, 1966 TRIM STRIP Filed NOV. 12, 1963 INVENTOR.

THOMAS E. TENYQNS e H\5 ATTORNEY 3,267,492 Ice Patented August 23, 19663,267,492 TRIM STRIP Thomas E. Jenkins, Louisville, Ky., assignor toGeneral Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 12, 1963,Ser. No. 322,656 4 (Ilaims. (Cl. 4-187) This invention relates to trimstrips and, more particularly, to a trim strip for mounting a sink orother appliance in a cabinet.

For a number of years it has been the practice to mount sinks inopenings provided in the top surface of kitchen cabinets. With the oldertype of sink construction this mounting presented little problem. A trimstrip was provided which extended around the outer edge of the sink andcontacted both the sink and the surface of the cabinet. This trim stripwas provided with a flange extending downwardly between the sink and thecabinet and retaining clips were provided to connect the underside ofthe sink and cabinet to this flange.

However, much greater difliculty is encountered when it is desired tomount a sink in a cabinet top and have the sink extend through the frontof the cabinet. The ordinary types of trim strip provided for mountingsinks in openings in tops of counters are entirely unsatisfactory inthat it would be necessary to manufacture a different trim strip foreach configuration of cabinet in order for the trim strip to fit snuglyabout the upper front edge of the counter.

Similar problems are encountered in attempting to seal the junctionbetween built-in washing machines, dishwashers, etc., and the cabinetsadjacent thereto. The dishwasher or washing machine is normally as deepas the cabinets and to obtain a smooth appearance at the juncturebetween them and a cabinet it is necessary to seal around the upperfront edges of the associated cabinets.

Not only is it necessary to accommodate cabinets having widely varyingupper front edge configurations, but it is also necessary to compensatefor the fact that the workmen, in building the cabinets, will normallybe unable to leave an opening in the cabinet of exactly the proper sizefor the insertion of the appliance. This invention provides a trim stripwhich solves all these problems, gives a finished appearance and isusable with a wide variety of cabinets.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved trim strip formounting a sink or other appliance in a cabinet.

Another object of this invention is to provide a universal trim stripwhich will accommodate a wide variety of front edge shapes of cabinets.

A further object of this invention is to provide a universal trim stripwhich will compensate for variations in the size of the openings incabinets.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds and the features of novelty whichcharacterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in theclaims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

The present invention, in one form thereof, is directed to a universaltrim strip which is used to mount a sink or other appliance in acabinet. The trim strip is formed in a generally U-shaped configurationin order to fit around three sides of the sink, the front of the sinkextending through the front side of the cabinet. For the major part ofits length the connecting strip is formed with a horizontal portionwhich serves to cover the edge of the sink and the edge of the cabinetand a flange which extends downwardly between the sink and the cabinetto receive a screw and clip arrangement for supporting the sink. Thusthe trim strip serves as the connecting link for supporting the sink inthe cabinet as well as providing a finished appearance to the front.

The ends of the connecting strip are formed with a generally U-shapedcross-section providing a pair of downwardly extending arms. One ofthese arms overlies the front portion of the sink and is formed toterminate closely adjacent thereto. The other arm is formed to contactthe cabinet. The ends of the strip extend outwardly and upwardly beyondthe front of the cabinet and the sink so as to accommodate a largevariety of front edge cabinet shapes.

For a better understanding of this invention reference may be had to theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a cabinet and sink arrangement including oneform of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial enlarged plan view of a portion of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken along line 33 of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a view taken along line 4-4 of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 with the screw in a tightenedposition; and

FIGURE 6 is a view taken along line 66 of FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 1 illustrates a sink mounting including one embodiment of thisinvention in which a sink 1 is supported in a cabinet 2 by means of atrim strip 3. The front portion 4 of sink 1 extends outwardly to a frontedge 5 of cabinet 2 and ends 6 and 7 of trim strip 3 extend outwardlyfurther than either sink 1 or cabinet 2. Trim strip 3, in the embodimentshown in FIGURE 1, is formed in U-shape so as to extend along both sidesand the rear of sink 1 in order to completely support it within cabinet2. However, it will be obvious that, if the sink were designed to extendto the rear edge 8 of the cabinet, the connecting strip could be formedas a pair of straight complementary strips, one to be provided at eachside of the sink.

As may be seen in FIGURE 6, for the major portion of its lengthconnecting strip 3 is formed with a horizontal portion 9 which coversthe space between sink 1 and cabinet 2 and bears against both of them toform a tight seal. A flange or arm 10 extends downwardly from horizontalportion 9 between sink 1 and cabinet 2 and is provided with a number ofopenings 11 to receive securing means for physically connecting the sinkto the cabinet. Each of the securing means comprises an L-shaped bracket12 which bears against the underside of sink 1 and extends through oneof the openings 11 in flange 10. A screw 13 is threadedly receivedthrough the end of bracket 12 most remote from the sink and abuts theunderside of cabinet 2. The screw 13 may be adjusted in order toproperly align bracket 12 and correctly mount the sink in the cabinet.

As may be seen in FIGURE 2, horizontal portion 9 of connecting strip 3terminates inwardly of the front of the sink and cabinet and is formedintegrally with a 'U-shaped portion 14. The U-shaped portion 14 includesa pair of resilient, spaced, downwardly extending arms. One of thesearms is an extension of flange 10 while the other is a relatively shortarm 15 which is designed to overlie front portion 4 of sink 1 andterminate closely adjacent thereto. A gusset 16 is provided in the bightof U-shaped portion 14. Gusset 16 serves to maintain the spacing betweenarms 10 and 15 and enables strip 3 to be tightly secured to the cabinetwithout bending the arms. A screw 17 is inserted through an opening inarm 15, gusset 16, and arm 10 and is received in cabinet 2 to secure theforward portion of the trim strip to the cabinet.

If desired the gusset can be eliminated by providing a larger opening inarm 15 so that screw 17 would be inserted completely through arm 15 andthe screw head would bear against arm 10. With this arrangement a plugwould normally be provided to fill the opening in arm 15 after completeassembly to keep undesired material from getting between the arms.

The arm 15 closely overlies front portion 4 of sink 1 (as may be seen inFIGURE 3) and overlaps edge 18 of sink 1 (as may be seen in FIGURE 4).Therefore, when screw 17 is tightened and arm is drawn snugly againstcabinet 2, overlapping of edge 18 of sink 1 by arm prevents arm 15 frombeing drawn beyond edge 18 of the sink (as may be seen in FIGURE 5).

This mounting arrangement enables a sink or other appliance to bequickly and easily mounted within a cabinet, even if the opening in thecabinet has not been perfectly cut to size. If desired epoxy resin maybe applied to the edge of the cabinet adjacent the front corner in orderto fill in any openings between arm 10 and cabinet 2 resulting fromirregularities in the cut in the cabinet.

The ends of connecting strip 3 extend outwarldy and upwardly beyond thefront edges of the cabinet and sink. This construction of the connectingstrip enables a connecting strip of a single design to be used inmounting sinks or other appliances in cabinets having a wide variety offront edge configurations 0r shapes.

, It will be obvious that similar connecting strips can be utilized insealing the space between a dishwasher, a washing machine or the likeand the adjacent cabinet when they are built into a cabinet structure.The only significant difference lies in the fact that, since thedishwasher or automatic washing machine would normally be a freestanding device, the clips 12 and screws 13 would be omitted from thestructure.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in the artand it is desired to be understood, therefore, that this invention isnot to be limited to the particular arrangement disclosed but that theappended claims are meant to cover all modifications which are withinthe spirit and scope of this invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A universal trim strip for mounting an appliance in a cabinetcomprising:

(a) a horizontal portion to cover the space between the appliance andthe cabinet,

(b) said horizontal portion terminating rearwardly of I the front of theappliance and the cabinet,

(c) a U-shaped portion having two, spaced, resilient,

downwardly-extending arms,

1 (d) said U-shaped portion being formed integrally with said horizontalportion and extending forwardly therefrom,

(e) said U-shaped portion projecting beyond the front of the applianceand the cabinet,

(f) one of said arms overlying the appliance, and

(g) the other of said arms abutting the cabinet.

2. A universal trim strip for mounting an appliance in a cabinetcomprising:

(a) a horizontal portion to cover the space between the appliance andthe cabinet,

(b) said horizontal portion terminating rearwardly of the front of theappliance and the cabinet,

(c) a U-shaped portion having two, spaced, resilientdownwardly-extending arms,

((1) said 'U-shaped portion being formed integrally with said horizontalportion and extending forwardly therefrom,

(e) said U-shaped portion projecting beyond the front of the applianceand the cabinet,

(f) one of said arms overlying the appliance, and

(g) a crew extending through at least the other of said arms and seatedin the cabinet whereby tightening of said screw forces said other armtightly against the cabinet to form a smooth even joint.

3. A universal trim strip for mounting an appliance in a cabinetcomprising:

(a) a horizontal portion to cover the space between the appliance andthe cabinet,

(b) said horizontal portion terminating rearwardly of the front of theappliance and the cabinet,

(c) a U-shaped portion having two, spaced, resilientdownwardly-extending arms,

(d) said U-shaped portion being formed integrally with said horizontalportion and extending forwardly therefrom,

(e) said U-shaped portion projecting beyond the front of the applianceand the cabinet,

(f) one of said arms overlying the appliance,

(g) the other of said arms abutting the cabinet,

(h) a screw extending through said arms and seated in the cabinet, and

(i) a gusset substantially filling the space between said arms adjacentsaid screw for maintaining the spaced relationship of said arms wherebytightening of said screw forces the second of said arms tightly againstappliance in said horizontal portion and extending forwardly therefrom,

(g) said U-shaped portion projecting beyond the front of the applianceand the cabinet,

(h) one of said arms overlying the front portion of the appliance andterminating closely adjacent thereto,

(i) the other of said arms being an extension of said flange andabutting the appliance,

(j) a screw extending through saidarms and seated in the cabinet,

(k) a gusset substantially filling the space between said arms adjacentsaid screw for maintaining the spaced relationship of said arms wherebytightening of said screw forces the second of said arms tightly againstthe cabinet without bending said arms.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS- 2,088,933 8/1937Uphues. 2,599,322 6/1952 Drain. 2,721,333 10/1955 Stanitz 4l89 3,014,47612/1961 Barnett 4-'187 X 3,051,160 8/1962 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Praia-Examiner. H. GROSS, Assistant Examiner.

Nielsen 4-187 X

1. A UNIVERSAL TRIM STRIP FOR MOUNTING AN APPLIANCE IN A CABINETCOMPRISING: (A) A HORIZONTAL PORTION TO COVER THE SPACE BETWEEN THEAPPLIANCE AND THE CABINET, (B) SAID HORIZONTAL PORTION TERMINATINGREARWARDLY OF THE FRONT OF THE APPLIANCE AND THE CABINET, (C) A U-SHAPEDPORTION HAVING TWO, SPACED, RESILIENT, DOWNWARDLY-EXTENDING ARMS, (D)SAID U-SHAPED PORTION BEING FORMED INTEGRALLY WITH SAID HORIZONTALPORTION AND EXTENDING FORWARDLY THEREFROM, (E) SAID U-SHAPED PORTIONPROJECTING BEYOND THE FRONT OF THE APPLIANCE AND THE CABINET, (F) ONE OFSAID ARMS OVERLYING THE APPLIANCE, AND (G) THE OTHER OF SAID ARMSABUTTING THE CABINET.